Doctor advocates to save adultBasic

January 24: Enrollees in adultBasic, health care providers and other advocates joined state Representative Tony DeLuca and other lawmakers for a news conference at the state Capitol.

adultBasic enrollees from across the state shared stories about how critical this health insurance program is to their lives. Health care providers, advocates and state legislators also called on Governor Tom Corbett to preserve adultBasic.

Below, view a short clip and read the comments of Dr. Bakare, a health care provider who has been in private practice for 25 years. He serves primarily low-income communities, and sees many patients who rely on adultBasic:

“It’s important that when politicians make decision they should be very aware of the impact of those decisions on ordinary citizens.I congratulate the Governor on his election, I wish him well. I wish him success, and his administration, but that success will be measured in many little steps. And one of those first steps, in my opinion, is the continuation of this program. To cancel this program does not save money, it may appear to save money in the short run, but in the long run, as the Chairman stated, the back end, the cancellation makes this a very expensive program.

We have patients who will stop going for their preventative health care, end up in emergency rooms, and that will not be paid for. It’s important to realize that adultBasic is not a Cadillac plan to begin with. Many of these patients are still responsible for 10% of most of their costs.. So they are already burdened by other costs associated with this program itself. The program doesn’t even cover prescriptions. I’ve had patients who are sick, I write a prescription for them and they can’t fill the prescription. And they’ll ask you, “Is it ok for me to wait a week?”, “Is it ok for me to wait 10 days before I fill this prescription?” Many times we struggle with pharmaceutical reps to come up with samples so we can give [samples] to these people.”

“To cancel this program is the wrong thing to do. The Governor in his campaign, promised to improve access to health care but one of the ways to start doing that is to extend this program. He promised to reduce costs, one of the ways to do that is to extend this program. In my view, it is not only the right thing to do, it is the moral thing to do. And in the end, also the economic thing to do. That is my little piece.”

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tim lemoine8 years ago

Where will the tobacco suit funds being paid to PA., and the record non-profit fund reserves the Big Blues have in their banks, get diverted to after the Republicant political execution of Adult Basic takes effect? Rendell’s fault? What pure BS